Winston Goes to Spain
“Who will look after my dog?” is a common dilemma when going on vacation. Our solution was to bring our Yorkshire Terrier, Winston, along with us for a six week trip to Spain.
Winston has travelled with us on several road trips in western Canada and the US, but we have never taken a pet on a transAtlantic flight. If we were taking a shorter trip or one with multiple stops, we wouldn’t take our dog as it wouldn’t be worth the expense, red tape, or the stress on our dog. The experience turned out to be a great one for us as well as Winston.
“I’m ready…let’s go!”
“I love the warm Spanish sun on my face.”
WINSTON AT THE NERJA FERIA
Why we decided to take Winston on this trip:
- Our stay was long enough to make the effort and expense worthwhile.
- Winston is small enough to fly in the cabin with us.
- We were planning to stay at one location, rather than moving a lot from place to place as we have on other trips.
- There is no quarantine period for pets entering the EU from Canada.
Pet Travel
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Winston’s Big Adventure
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Welcome to TouristSite! We're Shelley and Darrell, and we share stories and information about independent travel, food, culture and budget travel tips.
Thanks Betsy. Sounds like you have great memories with your Little Daisy. Now that you’re house-sitting you can still get your pet love fix!
Awww, I love Winston’s little face, and I totally understand why you didn’t want to leave him behind. We road-tripped all over North America with our Little Daisy, who was a marvelous companion. Just the best.
That’s so nice that you were able to take him! I don’t like leaving my pets and a kennel is out of the question. I’ve never met or talked to anyone whose been to Nerja I loved it! Winston is as cute as can be!
We’re lucky that my parents like to have Winston when we can’t take him along with us. Nerja is one of our favorite places for sure! Can’t wait to go back 🙂
Absolutely love the picture of Winston at the Nerja Feria, what fun!
Thanks Veronica! It was so much fun to have him along.
He’s adorable! I can see why you’d have a hard time leaving him behind and I’m glad to find out that traveling with a small dog is easier than I’d imagined.
Thanks Anita!
Winston is a cutie! I was surprised to find out it was so easy to take him along with you to Spain.
Thanks Carole!
We drove from WA State to Puerto Vallarta many years ago and took our two cats in our Jeep which had become their RV. I swear I’ve never had such stress! I love your photos and it looks like your little one was a great travel companion!
In two weeks our daughter is flying home from Korea with her cat, and I don’t think it will be as relaxed as Winston was during the flight!
So great that he was a good traveler, too!
He was only nervous when our suitcases came out – he doesn’t want to be left behind!
I met a woman in Kootenay National Park who had brought her dog to Canada from the Netherlands to join her – and help keep her safe – while she hiked and adventured around the country. Even better for Winston that he could go in the main compartment. He is one cute dog.
Thanks Leigh!
Your Winston is your family, besides he’s portable and cute at the same time! What a sweet post.
He is part of our family. We don’t have him on our current trip to Hong Kong and we miss him!
You didn’t mention how Winston behave during the flight… Did you feed him some travel pills to calm him down? And then there is the question how one can deal with the urge of a pet needing a toilet break on a plane… (sorry, I know, Americans never talk about this, but all cross Atlantic flights are at least 7 hours or longer).
Winston was really good during the flight. I think maybe the airplane noise calmed him. Our vet and the airlines didn’t recommend giving him sedatives, as it can affect their heart rate during the flight. We didn’t give Winston food or water for four hours before the flight, which was I think 9 hours. We then had a connection in Paris where we took him outside for a quick break, then on to the next flight for 2 more hours. So he left his mark in Paris 🙂
Aww this is the sweetest!!! I bet he loved his vacation with you:-) And you’re so right, if you travel long enough it totally makes financial sense to bring him with you, plus you have the peace of mind that he’s doing perfect!:-)
Thanks for visiting Jess. Winston’s coming on our road trip to Montana this weekend too. Lucky he’s a good traveler!
Ah this is so damn cool! I couldn’t think of a better travel companion, of course it would have to be the right destination
That’s true. North America and Europe are pretty straightforward, but some places like New Zealand have pretty tight pet import regulations.